Heretofore, one problem which has occurred in, for example, large amusement parks is that a line forms at the entrance to the site of each attraction (i.e., at the entrance to each pavilion) which corresponds to its popularity. As a result, some attractions have excessively long lines while others have excessively short lines, and valuable equipment is underutilized. For the customers, this means having to waste time waiting in line for one's turn. For the proprietor, it means not being able to run the equipment efficiently. Because the customers are stuck waiting in line, they cannot use that time to patronize the shops in the park (for example, restaurants or shops featuring local products). As a result, the gross sales in the park are not what they might be. To address this problem, various systems have been considered which would issue reserved admission tickets in such a way as to optimize admissions.
The following ticketing systems are known in the prior art. The first such system was disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 1-134565. It is a card system which reserves a turn for each patron in a pavilion of a large amusement park. This system comprises: a card on which there is stored identification data which serves to identify each patron; a means to read the data off the card; a means to store reservation data which assigns a rank to the aforesaid identification data in the order in which they are read, and stores these ranks; a control device which stores the aforesaid identification data which are read in order in the aforesaid storage device for that purpose and calculates a reserved time based on the rank of the said identification data which are read and a previously established standard time per unit of consumption; and a means to announce the said reserved time which has been calculated.
A second ticketing system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 3-164992. For every pavilion and ride, the duration of the ride, its capacity, its location and other relevant data are stored in the data base of a host computer. This data is processed according to the customer's circumstances (number of people, allowed capacity, priority ranking), and a ticket is issued by a ticketing machine. The customer can thus visit each attraction in the optimal order with the minimum waiting time.
A third ticketing system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 6-19940. A card which is valid as a reservation card for entry to an attraction is issued by an issuing device. The customer inserts the card into the reservation device when he wishes to enter the attraction. The total number of people who have entered that attraction is calculated and used to estimate the time when the customer may enter the attraction, which is then printed on the card. The customer has only to appear at the attraction at the printed time, and he will be allowed entry. This system eliminates long waits in a places like a large amusement park with attractions which can only accommodate a fixed number of people at a time, and in which people can easily be rerouted.
A fourth ticketing system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 3-48385. The situation concerning the reservations for each attraction is stored in a computer. The customer is given a magnetic card, which he inserts in a reservation machine. At the same time, he enters the time he would like to enter the attraction. Based on the state of reservations, the computer determines whether there is still sufficient space available at the requested time. If there is, it writes the reserved time on the reservation card. When the card is read at the reserved time by a terminal installed at the gate of the attraction, the user is allowed entry. A fifth such system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 4-5784.
With the first three systems described above, a terminal simply issues the customer a reservation card on which a reserved entry time is printed. The customer has no opportunity to reserve a time period that he would prefer. At a large amusement park, this may mean that the customer is unable to reserve times that fit his schedule, or, if he wishes to visit a number of attractions, that the reserved times overlap each other. And because the time required to walk from one ride to another is not considered, it can also mean that the customer does not arrive in time to use his hard-won reservation.
With the fourth and fifth systems, the customer is able to enter the reserved time which he desires; however, the determination of whether an attraction is fully booked is based on data indicating its maximum carrying capacity. In reality, cancellations and other variables may cause the number of customers showing up at a given ride at a given time to be smaller than was projected. This makes it impossible to operate the equipment efficiently. Uncertainty factors such as cancellations which come into play after the reservations are given out vary slightly with the type of attraction, the weather, the time of day, the day of the week and the season. For this reason, when the operator establishes the data representing maximum carrying capacity for each attraction (i.e., the maximum number of reservations which can be issued) he must add a value which he determines by feel on the basis of experience.
If people are making reservations for a number of attractions in a large amusement park and each person indicates a time, as in the example above, those inexperienced with the park may make reservations which do not allow them enough time to go from one attraction to the next. Their reservations will end up being canceled. In reality, then, it is necessary to guarantee a course which can be traveled in the time allotted as well as a reserved time.
The systems described above are unable to respond adequately to reservations which are canceled before the prescribed time, as frequently happens. As a result, a customer may be unable to get a reservation even though a time slot is available.